Connecting mobile devices to the internet has immense and well known benefits today, but also has created overwhelming security problems that were not imagined when the basic architecture of modern electronic computers was developed in 1945, which was about twenty years before networks came into use. Even then, those first networks involved a very limited number of connected computers, had low transmission speeds between them, and the network users were generally known to each other, since most networks were relatively small and local.
By contrast, the number of computers connected to the internet today is greater by a factor of many millions, broadband connection speeds are faster by a similar magnitude, and the network connections stretch worldwide and connect hundreds of millions computers together. With mobile devices added to the equation we are getting billions of computers connected together via the internet.
Connecting mobile devices and computers to the internet is mandatory in today's world; disconnection is not a feasible option given the existing global dependence on the internet. However, the ubiquity of the internet and the billions of interconnections raise grave and constant security concerns. Many current computer systems and mobile devices lack the ability to provide secure connections via private or public networks.
Many individuals and organizations store sensitive personal information such as bank account numbers and log-in and password information in computers and mobile devices. Therefore, security breaches can be devastating. Lost or stolen devices can also compromise security.
At the same time, most computer systems and mobile devices do not take full advantage of this environment. The billions of connections could be used to our benefit. If they could be adapted to customers' daily needs, they could provide the ultimate mobile system constructed from hardware and software, assisting customers to perform a wide variety of daily routines through their mobile devices. The ubiquity of the internet and interconnectedness has also improved the possibilities of identifying global positions and locations, which can be utilized in various ways. For example, computers and mobile devices could be adapted to customers' shipping needs to provide an improved mobile system that is constructed from hardware and software, assisting customers to make wise shopping decisions for the best price.
Another example is the area of fueling. Gasoline fill is a tedious procedure and interrupts daily/weekly/periodically schedules for motor vehicle owners or users. The process is time consuming, has health risks, and is considered an annoying necessity. Computers and mobile devices could be adapted to customers' shipping needs to provide the ultimate mobile system constructed from hardware and software, taking the burden of gasoline fill from vehicle owners by providing an on-demand fill at the customer's location of choice.
Yet another example is the trucking industry. The trucking industry provides an essential service to the American economy by transporting large quantities of raw materials, works in process, and finished goods over land, typically from manufacturing plants to retail distribution centers. Trucks in America are responsible for the majority of freight movement over land, and are vital tools in the manufacturing, transportation, and warehousing industries. The trucking industry handles much more cargo than trains, ships or planes; without trucks, goods could never travel from rail yards, ports and airports to their final destinations. If the trucking industry stopped rolling, the U.S. economy would grind to a halt.
Businesses of all sizes depend on the trucking industry to maintain fast delivery times and deliver products safely all over the nation. Therefore, the trucking industry is based on timetables and schedules. Every hour is essential in order to achieve market segments and be competitive, in any type of industry. In today's fast-paced world shipments are needed to be haul fast and on schedule. Companies are constantly searching for better methodologies and concepts of scheduling management and efficiency. Computers and mobile devices could be adapted to trucking customers' shipment needs to provide the ultimate mobile system constructed from hardware and software, providing a new approach and methodology to organize shipments and cargo deliveries, significantly increasing trucking services availability, and enabling a new age of cargo transportation services.
Systems that locate, track, and monitor the status of people generally utilize or incorporate known technology, including, for example, Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, inertial and non-inertial sensor devices, and signal analysis methods. However, existing systems have serious drawbacks that are based on battery power energy, available cellular services and satellite global position around earth.
For example, tracking GPS relies primarily on a line-of-sight signal acquisition, for example, caves or certain terrain. In these locations, however, the line of sight of GPS satellites may be substantially obscured and GPS signals may be highly attenuated. As a result, GPS signals are typically weaker in these types of environments so GPS receivers have difficulty receiving GPS signals and calculating accurate position information.
Inertial tracking systems typically use readings from sensors such as gyroscopes and accelerometers to estimate the relative path of personnel and/or assets. Inertial systems, however, may accumulate large errors over time due to factors such as drift in sensor offsets, sensitivity, and measurement limitations of the sensors, as well as limitations of the location determining methods (e.g., algorithms) implemented by such systems.
Signal analysis methods that use signals of the same (or different) frequencies from different reference points to compute the location of personnel and/or assets may be unfeasible due to the need to install a number of reference devices at a particular tracking location (or scene), and may further have large instantaneous errors, and outliers, due to the multi-path effects of signals traveling through various building materials.
Systems that locate, track, and monitor altitude and motion activities status of mobile devices generally utilize or incorporate known technology including, for example, gyroscope technology, inertial and non-inertial sensor devices, and signal analysis methods and apparatus. However, signal analysis methods that use signals of the same (or different) frequencies from different reference points to compute the location, altitude or motion activities of mobile devices may be limited due to the need to install a number of reference devices at a particular tracking location, and may further have large instantaneous errors, and outliers, due to the multi-path effects of signals traveling through various building materials.
These drawbacks of existing altitude monitoring methods have limited their application in various industries, including the airline industry. For example, detection and activation of a mobile device's airplane mode is an important safety issue. Airplane mode is a setting available on many mobile phones and other electronic devices that, when activated, suspends many of the device's signal transmitting functions and all cellular services (GSM, UMTS, LTE) as well as other signal-transmitting technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, thereby disabling the device's capacity to place or receive calls or use text messaging, while still permitting use of other functions that do not require signal transmission (e.g., games, built-in camera, MP3 player). Airplane mode permits the user to operate the device while on board a commercial aircraft while in flight, where the operation of mobile phones and other devices that send or receive signals is generally prohibited due to the common belief that they can potentially impact aircraft avionics or interfere with ground mobile networks. Automatic detection of altitude and activation of a mobile device's airplane mode would be beneficial as airline staff would not need to rely on each passenger to activate it on his or her mobile device.
Therefore, there exists a need for an electronic circuit providing secure communications via private and public networks. There is also a need for a secure communications system which can disable or permanently cease operation of a computer or mobile device in the event of a security breach or theft or if the device is lost. There is a need for a communications system that can take advantage of global position and location information to provide real-time emergency communication, beacon, location identification, and tracking for mobile devices. There is also a need for a system that can automatically detect the altitude of a mobile device and activate the mobile device's airplane mode. Finally, a need exists for an electronic circuit that can serve as a platform for categorized delivery of products and services, including fueling and trucking services.